Keeping the Faith In Time of Persecution (Part III)

(Read Part 1 | Read Part II)

Secret Enlightenment in France, Italy, Spain, and Other Countries

It seems to me that the teachings of St. Francis de Sales, who single handedly defended the Catholic Faith against the likes of Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli all over France was divinely led to this work.  It is said that he re-converted packed churches of fallen away Catholics and new protestant converts every time he spoke in public. Thus, it is clearly a silent enlightenment in the midst of what appears to be a new building-back of souls to the true and holy life taught in the Catholic Church. It is important to note the following:

*  It is rare to have so many Saints in a single century and with uncorrupted bodies for a long period of time

*  For one of them to be named a Doctor of the Church

*  To teach and direct using a new and profound teaching for everyday life in the presence of God

*  When they would say “Live Jesus” it was easy for the Sisters to grasp the teaching of the Beatitudes

*  They were taught to strive each day to live a virtuous life

*  St. Jane de Chantal was the mother of six children, a widow, a member of the French nobility, who was a direct descendant of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and who opened 80 convents within a 23-year period

*  one or more of the Visitation mother superiors had the Stigmata

*  The Visitation Order under the leadership of St. Jane de Chantal had so many applicants for the religious life that they turned away many women as they had no room.

The Visitation Order is just one of the many orders in France that prove the Catholic Counter-Reformation was a success. Another order that experienced a renewal was the Carmelites.  While St. Teresa of Avila worked tirelessly to reform the Carmelites in Spain, a rare individual named Madame Barbe Avrillot Acarie during this same period worked to bring St. Teresa’s reforms under the Discalced Carmelites to France. Madame Acarie was also a member of the nobility and led a spiritual life, while raising 6 children. Her husband was a tireless worker for the Catholic Church in which he helped to organize and serve The Catholic League made up of men that would attack heresies and were made up of the nobility of France. At times they acted like “The Three Musketeers” like a religious special guard to the King of France.

It is revealed that St. Michael the Archangel, Jesus, and Mary often appeared to Madame Acarie as a child and adolescent. She wanted to enter a convent, but her parents would not allow it.  So, being obedient to her parents, it was said only marriage to a man of their choosing would be allowed for her. This was a time when parents would actively search for a devout Roman Catholic spouse, with income to provide for a wife and children. When that social rule stopped being the norm, society began to disintegrate within the family. Young girls and boys cannot see characteristics to judge people and that is why it must be the mother and father to seek out proper spouses for their children.

In my studies of the 16-17^th Centuries it was revealed that there were many examples of Saints that were married with children that lived holy lives and received appearances from Jesus, Mary, St. Michael, and other Saints in Heaven. It has been written that St. Francis de Sales wrote his first book Introduction to the Devout Life through observation of Barbe and Pierre Acarie and their family as an ideal for Catholic Lay people.  As mentioned earlier, he served as a spiritual director for her and was often staying at her home whenever his travel brought him to Paris. She was responsible for organizing the travel from Spain of two mother superiors directly trained by St. Teresa of Avila to come to France to train new mother superiors to lead new novices, that she handpicked, and in which was so successful that she opened 55 new Discalced Carmelite convents over a 40-year period. She is currently listed as Blessed and pending canonization.

The French School of Spirituality

Georges de Cadoadal commented in his book written about Madame Acarie in 1863, that he believes the 17^th Century was truly an Age of Grace.  He writes also that there was a flooding of The Holy Ghost upon the Earth following the Protestant Reformation in the 1530’s in Europe. On page 13 of the book Mr. de Cadoadal sees this reality 245 years later when the facts related to the individuals who became part of The French School of Spirituality are analyzed. He states, “This was the time when the Lord showered His graces on Earth with great abundance and so profoundly ravaged the spirit of doubt and reform.” And in another part of the book he states, “…the early years of the 17^th Century must be considered as The Golden Age of Catholicism. Never has a more abundant and magnificent harvest germinated in the field of the Church.  Everywhere people walked in the footsteps of St. Teresa of Avila or St. Ignatius of Loyola.”

Thus, The French School of Spirituality was created out of the teachings of these 17^th Century saints, guided by The Holy Ghost who enlightened their minds and gave them the gifts of writing, speaking in public, researching what the Apostles and the early saints of the Church taught, as well as giving them the physical and mental stamina to convert thousands of people to the Roman Catholic Faith.  Through these events the traditional Catholic teaching was made clear.  Some of the major truths taught:

1. The exaltation of Christ by the faithful and the movement of the human will to make oneself Christ’s humble servant;
2. Prayer, reading, and pondering the sentiments and lessons found in Holy Scripture of Christ and of Mary;
3. Belief in Transubstation of the bread and wine into the real presence of Our Lord, and the importance of Adoration of The Holy Eucharist;
4. The development of a devotion to the Two Hearts – The Sacred Heart of Jesus through the apparitions of Jesus to Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque of the Visitation Order in the 1600’s in France [mentioned earlier].  The Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the apparitions to St. Louis de Montfort also in the 1600’s.  There was a revival of ancient Chaplet prayers and a revival of Litanies;
5. Honoring the guidelines of The Council of Trent;
6. Honoring the recitation of The Holy Rosary. St Dominic received The Rosary Devotion in the 13^th Century in the year 1208 A.D. He had traveled to France on a mission to help Catholics that were losing their faith due to a heresy. Our Lady appeared to him in a chapel next to the St. Marie de Prouille Convent, Prouille, Southern France.

The people most attributed to forming The French School of Spirituality were:

St. Francis de Sales

Madame Barbe Avrillot Acarie (Blessed Sister Marie of the Incarnation)

Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle [cousin of Barbe Acarie]

Charles de Condren

Father Henri Boudon

Father Jean-Jacques Olier

Father Chezard de Matel

St. Louis de Montfort

Baron de Renty

Jerome le Royer de la Dauversiere

I can see how these French teachings were later brought to America via numerous religious orders. They were taught to converts to the Catholic Church from the Redemptorist, Jesuit, Dominican, Benedictine, and Discalced Carmelite Orders among others.  The methods were then taught to all children in Catholic K-12 schools all over the United States, Canada, and foreign countries in the 18^th – 20^th Centuries. An example is St. Alphonsus Liguori in Italy who founded the Redemptorist Order in 1732.

So, for the past 425 years the grace given to the 17^th Century Roman Catholic French saints has endured and even though the teachings are largely abandoned in the Catholic schools today they will always be taught to small groups of Catholics that see the truths and honor the Tridentine teachings that were taught to them by holy priests and nuns.

References:

The First English Translation of the Life of Mother Anne-Seraphine Boulier 1628- 1683: Religious of the Visitation of Holy Mary Monastery, Dijon, France with Notes About The Mother Marie-Dorothée Desbarres 1637-1721 by Teresa Farris-Dacar, Nov. 2015; The Catholic Counter-Reformation [also called Restoration] Wikipedia; St. Francis de Sales, Wikipedia; St. Jane de Chantal, The First English Translation of Records of The Monastery of Dijon, France, 1611-1790 by Teresa Farris-Dacar, 2016; The First English Translation of A Biography of Madame Acarie, 1566-1618, by Teresa Farris-Dacar, 2020. Roman Catholic History, St. Dominic’s Apparition of Our Lady bringing the Rosary prayers.

About the Author:

Mrs. Teresa Farris-Dacar has an M.A. in History, M.Ed. Clinical Counseling, M.Ed. Curriculum Design, B.A. Humanities, a major in Journalism, and has published the books listed below. They are available from the author by e-mailing her at ForGodandKing@att.net or placing a special order at Barnes & Noble or Books A Million. All books published by Ingram Publishing Company.

From England – To Barbados – To Carolina;1670-1700: The Founding of Charles Towne;
For God and King [a Christian historical novel];
Heaven Bound by Wearing The Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel;

3 books translated from French into English for the first time:

• The Life of Mother Anne-Seraphine Boulier (written in 1683),
• Records of the Monastery of Dijon,1611-1789,
• Biography of Madame Acarie, 1566-1618.